


Happy Loop Year

by brams_oreos



Category: Love Simon (2018), Simonverse | Creekwood Series - Becky Albertalli
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Emails (Simonverse), Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Canon Gay Character, Canon Gay Relationship, Drunk Simon, F/M, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Gay Disaster Simon Spier, I love Bram, M/M, Multi, New Year's Kiss, Shy Bram Greenfeld, Strangers to Lovers, Time Loop, Underage Drinking, but it's pretty much completely au, he's lucky his friends are smarter than him, honestly, i mean kinda, i really cant tag for shit, inspired more by the movie, its more, poor bram is just really confused, simon and bram are the only main relationship, simon's just really stupid okay, the others are mostly background ones, the universe hates simon and simon hates it right back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-27 19:04:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19797106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brams_oreos/pseuds/brams_oreos
Summary: Fic based on this prompt: https://auideas.tumblr.com/post/136437273107/loop-year-auSoulmate AU where Simon ends up stuck replaying New Years Eve over and over until he can figure out who his soulmate is and kiss him before midnight.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if anyone is OOC, this is my first official fic in this fandom. I've been in it for a while, I read SVTHSA a couple of months after it was first released, and I saw Love, Simon in cinemas as soon as it came out. I've owned LOTO since it was released, but I've only just gotten around to reading it recently thanks to the Simonverse becoming my new special interest. I've wanted to write something for a while, but I didn't know what, and then I saw this prompt on tumblr and thought about how interesting it sounded, and I promptly wrote this all in one night. The next few chapters will be coming soon, I just need to edit them first and I don't trust myself to do it now 'cause it's currently 4am and my eyes are stinging as I write this.
> 
> Either way, I really hope you enjoy. I'm excited to post in this fandom because I've pretty much been here from the beginning. Kudos and comments are much appreiciated. Thank you so much for reading!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re so dramatic, Leah,” Abby says, laughing quietly.
> 
> “I’m not dramatic, I’m right.” She replies.
> 
> “Well, this is a great chance for you to meet your soulmate! That goes for both of you.”

Simon’s day starts off as normal as ever. He wakes up, has a delicious pancake breakfast that Nora has finally managed to perfect the recipe of, takes Bieber out on a quick walk, and prepares to spend the rest of the day being lazy until it’s time to do the New Years countdown with his family. It’s not really a tradition they have, it’s just a nice bonding thing they can do to make the transition from one year to the next feel special, even if it isn’t really that big of a deal.

His plans are changed drastically when he receives a text from Leah. _Garrett Laughlin is throwing a New Years party_ it says _Abby and Nick want to go, please come with me so I don’t have to suffer alone._

So he asks his parents, and after a short conversation about being careful with his alcohol intake and whatnot, he meets Leah, Nick, and Abby at WaHo so they can eat before heading to the party.

“Simon!” Leah says when she sees him enter, greeting him with a hug. “Thank you so much for coming and saving me from what was definitely gonna be a Hell Night otherwise.”

“You’re so dramatic, Leah,” Abby says, laughing quietly.

“I’m not dramatic, I’m _right_.” She replies.

“Well, this is a great chance for you to meet your soulmate! That goes for both of you.”

Ah, soulmates. The one thing Abby has been obsessed with ever since she and Nick realised they were each others. Simon isn’t really sure he even believes in them if he’s honest. Nick and Abby seem like they should be proof, but their case is… odd.

The way that they’re supposed to work, is that the universe has a predetermined timeline written for your life that you can’t alter. When the day that you’re supposed to kiss your soulmate for the first time arrives, you’re supposed to go through with it or you’ll be trapped in a never-ending time loop until you eventually do. It’s kinda terrifying.

Nick and Abby are a rare case because they seemingly kissed for the first time exactly when they were supposed to, and therefore had no loop to suffer through until they figured it out, which literally almost never happens. Most people do know their soulmates beforehand- they can be friends, acquaintances, coworkers, etc. As your soulmate can’t be someone you haven’t interacted with on the Kissing Day -but people pretty much never figure it out first try. They’re either insanely lucky or just not each other’s soulmates, _or_ the soulmate thing is a complete myth. Simon’s not about to tell two of his best friends that he thinks they don’t belong together, even if that’s what other people seem to think when they hear the story of how they got together. It doesn’t really matter to him since he doesn’t really believe in it anyway.

His parents are ‘soulmates’ of course, and he’s been told the story of how they realised many times. They both originally hated each other but got paired together one day for a science experiment. When they spent the majority of their time together bickering instead of kissing, they woke up the next day and found out that it wasn’t actually the next day at all. Blah, blah, etc, etc, his dad kissed his mom in the middle of science class and they actually woke up on a different day instead of the same one after they went to sleep that night.

Simon’s pretty sure they just told him that to keep him excited (or at least prepared) for the day he’d meet his soulmate, it worked at first, but eventually, he started dreading it. Did anyone really want to go through the exact same day over and over and over again? Obviously not, and Simon was no different. So he stopped believing because you can’t dread something you don’t believe is going to happen.

“What’re you ordering, Si?” Abby asks once he and Leah have taken their seats in the booth. 

Simon shrugs, “just my usual.” 

“And your usual is…?” Comes an unfamiliar voice from beside him. Simon glances up and comes face to face with the cutest WaHo waiter he’s ever seen. Tall, with dark brown hair and soft smile.

“Oh, uh…” Simon stammers, “just, waffles with syrup.” He eyes the guy’s name tag. _Lyle_. 

“You look familiar,” Lyle says, “it’s Simon, right?” 

Simon nods. 

“Yeah! We had Bio together, last year?” 

“Oh,” Simon replies awkwardly, “I’m sorry, I don’t remember-“ 

“It’s okay,” Lyle smiles, and Simon can’t help but appreciate how _cute_ it is, “it was a big class, and I’m good at remembering faces.” 

Their conversation ends there. Lyle takes their orders, and Simon ignores the looks he’s getting from his friends for reacting like that. 

The group of four eat at WaHo before piling into Simon’s car and heading to Garrett’s. They’ve already decided that Leah will be the one driving them home since she doesn’t drink and Simon can practically get wasted off of the _smell_ of alcohol. They reach the party without getting lost, which is surprising because Simon’s pretty sure he’s never actually been to Garrett’s house before.

And then they go inside, and it’s exactly what Simon expects: a bunch of drunk teenagers dancing, drinking, and making out in corners or against walls. Lovely.

Abby disappears almost immediately, and Nick chases after her, leaving Leah and Simon alone. They look at each other and roll their eyes before heading deeper into the house, past the group of teens almost blocking the entry hallway.

Once he’s in the main room, he spots Nick and Abby again. They’re both holding red solo cups and chatting to Garrett and Bram- Garrett’s best friend and one of the boys on Nick’s soccer team. If Simon’s being completely honest with himself, he’s always found Bram super attractive. There’s just something about the dark curly hair on the top of his head… his soft brown eyes that Simon wouldn’t mind getting lost in any day…. his cute hands that are much bigger than Simon’s are…. his soccer calves…. the way he sounds when he laughs…. his shy smile that can totally light up a room, and definitely brightens Simon’s day whenever he manages to catch a glimpse of it…. Simon could go on.

Okay, so maybe it was a bit of a crush. But Simon has a strict policy of Not Falling For Straight Guys, and unfortunately, he’s pretty sure that’s exactly what Bram is: straight. Heterosexual. Off-limits.

It’s disappointing, but it’s also a part of the Gay Experience: finding out the person you like is straight. Simon figures he should get used to it.

That doesn’t stop him from staring at Bram across the room, though. Bram’s pretty quiet. He and Simon have talked before, but they’ve never had a proper conversation, it’s mostly been about boring things like schoolwork. Simon fondly remembers the time he was accidentally given one of Bram’s graded papers in English class, and how he’d felt when Bram’s fingers slightly grazed his when he handed it to him. It’s kinda weird to be this into a guy he’s barely talked to, he supposes, but life is weird, so he doesn’t think about it that much. It’s not like anything is ever gonna happen between them anyway.

“Si?” Leah’s voice catches his attention and he reluctantly drags his gaze away from Bram and looks at her instead. She looks slightly amused like she knows exactly what he was doing. Simon ignores the slight blush he can feel appearing on his cheeks.

“If you’re done ogling Bram Greenfeld, we can go dance, if you want?”

“Sure.” Simon answers, “I wanna get a drink first though.”

Leah nods in reply and Simon makes his way to the kitchen and gets himself some beer, taking a sip and pretending he doesn’t hate the taste.

“Hey, Simon.” Simon hears as he’s about to leave. He turns back around and comes face to face with Cal Price. 

“Oh, Cal! Hi.” Simon greets, “I didn’t know parties were your thing.” 

“Oh, they aren’t.” Cal says, smiling, “but Garrett _insisted_ that I came, so.” 

Simon frowns, “I didn’t know you were friends with Garrett.” 

“It’s only a recent thing. He just approached me one day and I didn’t want to be rude so I talked to him, and we kinda hit it off.” 

“That’s great,” Simon replies, “listen, I’m really sorry but I’ve kinda abandoned my friend for a beer so-“ 

“Oh no, it’s fine!” Cal smiles at him again, and it’s then Simon realises that Cal’s pretty cute. Not Bram Greenfeld cute, but cute. But he really doesn’t have time to focus on that now. 

He returns to Leah a few minutes later and is disappointed to note that Bram has disappeared from his original place next to Garrett.

He and Leah dance for a while, not really taking themselves seriously and having more fun because of it. Before Simon knows it, his cup is empty, and he feels much better than he did when he first arrived.

Eventually, he and Leah stop dancing and Simon goes to refill his drink before following her outside. There aren’t as many people out here as there are inside, so it’s a definite improvement. He catches sight of Bram again; he’s setting up what looks to be a game of beer pong with Garrett. Nick and Abby are standing nearby, seemingly waiting for them to finish.  
  
Garrett looks up suddenly and notices Simon and Leah from where they’re awkwardly standing just outside his back door. A massive grin immediately appears on his face, and he says something to Bram before making his way over.

“Burke! Spier! You made it!” He says cheerfully. Simon’s pretty sure he’s tipsy already, from the way he’s swaying on his feet a little.

“Hi, Garrett,” Leah says politely. Simon gives him an awkward wave and sips his beer again.

“So, I have a request.”

 _Oh no_ , Simon thinks.  
  
“I was about to play beer pong with Bram, against Nick and Abby, but I just remembered I have to tell Leah something like, really really important. So uh, Simon, do you mind?”

Simon suspects that Garrett just wants him out of the way so he can talk to Leah, and a part of him wants to say no, but also… Bram.

He’s nodding before he can second-guess himself. “Sure,” he replies, downing the rest of his drink and smiling.

Garrett grins again, “thanks, man! You’re the best! Good luck with the game, I’m sure you and Bram will make a great team!”

Simon resists the urge to roll his eyes and makes his way over to the table, where the game is now fully set up.

“Hi,” he says to Bram, only half as awkward as usual because of the alcohol in his system.

“Hey,” Bram replies, and he smiles that warm smile that makes Simon’s stomach flip, “I’m assuming Garrett convinced you to take his place?”

Simon nods, “and I’m assuming it’s just because he wants to flirt with Leah?”

Bram laughs at that, and Simon’s stomach feels like it’s competing in a gymnastics tournament, “that’s not the full story, but yeah, pretty much.”

Simon’s about to ask what the full story actually is, but Abby cuts him off by yelling about starting the game so she and Nick can kick their asses.

“Ready to play?” Bram asks. Simon nods excitedly, and the game begins.

They lose, but not by much. Abby and Bram are both amazing players, and they make up for the fact that Nick and Simon are pretty much average at best.

Either way, by the end of it Simon is extremely drunk, bordering on completely wasted. He already knows he’s gonna have a killer hangover in the morning, but at the moment he can’t bring himself to care. He turns his attention to Bram, who is definitely drunk too, except with him it’s less noticeable. Bram is the type of person that’s always very put-together, and Simon’s pleasantly surprised to find out that alcohol doesn’t really change that.

“Wanna dance with me?” He asks. Bram looks surprised, but only momentarily. A second later that butterfly-inducing smile is back and he replies with a small nod.

Simon grabs his hand and pulls him back inside to the area where he was dancing with Leah earlier. Bram laughs when he starts showing off his moves, which are definitely significantly worse than they were earlier considering the number of drinks he’s had. Still, he can’t bring himself to care. He’s having fun and dancing with Bram Greenfeld, of all people. Cute Bram Greenfeld. With the soft brown eyes and soccer calves.

They dance until Leah and Garrett suddenly reappear from wherever they went off to. Leah is pulling him away from Bram before he can complain, and only stops when Simon nearly falls over.

“Wh- Leah! Why’d you pull me away? I was dancing with Cute Bram!”

Leah rolls her eyes, “Garrett just told me he likes me, he asked me out on a date!”

“Ooooh.” Simon giggles, “do you like him?”

Leah shrugs, “I guess. I don’t know if he’s my soulmate though, and I don’t really know how to find out without replaying this day again.”

“Did you kiss him?”

“Obviously not. I might, though. If I kiss him and nothing happens, I can assume we’re soulmates, right?”

Simon nods, “that’s apparently how it works. But you’ll never know for sure unless you let the day replay.”

Leah groans, “ugh, I hate the universe. That sounds so exhausting.”

“Do you even want him to be your soulmate?” Simon asks, because he’s just realising that Leah has never mentioned Garrett before. Well, she technically has, but never in a romantic context.

Leah shrugs again, “I don’t know. I’ve never really thought of him like that. But he likes me, and he could definitely be my soulmate, and I don’t think it’d be the end of the world if he was.”

“It wouldn’t be the end of the world if you were _my_ soulmate,” Simon tells her, “that doesn’t mean I want you to be.”

Leah sighs, “whatever. I thought you didn’t believe in soulmates anyway?”

“I don’t. But you do, and I’m your friend, so I’ve gotta be supportive.”

She rolls her eyes, “I love you, Si.”

“I love you too.”

“HEY EVERYONE,” Garrett yells suddenly. The music that was previously blasting from his speakers is abruptly cut off. Garrett is standing on a table in the middle of the main room, attempting to get everyone’s attention. He’s swaying significantly more than he was earlier, and Simon notices Bram again, standing next to the table and watching his friend with a worried look on his face as if he’s afraid Garrett’s gonna lose his balance and fall off.

“THERE’S LIKE, A MINUTE TIL MIDNIGHT.” Garrett continues, “SO MAKE SURE EVERYONE’S INSIDE SO WE CAN DO THE COUNTDOWN. AND SO YOU CAN FIND SOMEONE TO KISS.”

Then he’s awkwardly climbing down, with a lot of help from Bram, and the party resumes, but the music is much quieter, and the main room gets much more packed once people start coming inside.

Garrett appears again, and before Simon can get a word out he’s whisking Leah away because he apparently needs to tell her something “really really important” again. Yeah, right.

Simon makes his way to the table since that’s where he last saw Bram. He briefly considers asking Bram to kiss him, but even his drunk brain knows that that’s probably too far. He and Bram have only just become friends, sort-of, he doesn’t want to ruin that by asking him for a New Years kiss and scaring him off.

It takes him a while to get there because he has to awkwardly stumble through a massive crowd of drunk teenagers. They’re all watching a clock that’s hung up on one of the walls. By the time he makes it to the front, the countdown has started, and he’s debating on asking Bram to kiss him again. After all, he only thinks Bram is straight based on assumptions, and he can always blame it on being drunk if it doesn’t go well.

He reaches the table, and everyone around him is shouting out the final part of the countdown.  
  
_5…_

He searches for Bram, but once again he has seemingly disappeared.

_4…_

Simon continues looking, glancing around the room until he catches sight of Bram talking to a brunette girl that Simon has never seen before.

_3…_

He can’t see Bram’s face, or hers, really, and he’s not close enough to overhear whatever it is that they’re saying. He starts moving closer, determined to go through with his plan.

_2…_

He’s just close enough to be able to hear what they’re saying now, but to his dismay, they aren’t actually saying anything.

_1…_

The crowd cheers and the brunette kisses Bram, Simon’s stomach drops at the sight. The gymnast in his stomach just fell off the uneven bars he was supposed to be performing on and he's now snapped in half like that girl from _Final Destination 5_.

_Oh._

Before he can even consider reacting differently, Simon is running away from Bram and the brunette girl, and out of Garrett’s house altogether. He lets himself into the backseat of his car, determined to wait until Nick, Leah, and Abby arrive so he can go home and forget this ever happened.

He’s annoyed at himself for being disappointed. He _knew_ Bram was straight, and he really shouldn’t have let his crush on him get this far. But, he did anyway. And on top of that, he almost let his stupid drunk brain convince him to kiss him. He’s never felt so idiotic in his life.

He sighs, and lies down in the backseat, intending to get comfortable, and maybe nap until his friends find him.

He ignores the pain he feels in his chest from what he’s definitely counting as a mini-heartbreak and slowly drifts off to sleep.

Whatever stupid emotions he’s feeling now, he’ll deal with when he’s sober.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Simon,” she asks, her tone urgent, “what day is it?”
> 
> “Do you not know?”
> 
> “Just tell me. Please.”
> 
> “January 1st. New Years Day. That’s why I told you Happy New Year when I came down this morning.”
> 
> Nora stares at him, “Simon, it’s December 31st.”

Simon’s day starts off weirder than he expects it to.

For starters, he’s in his bed. Which is fine and normal in theory, but he doesn’t remember getting home. Or even waking up from his nap in his car at all.

That can be easily explained though if the splitting headache that’s definitely caused by his hangover is anything to go by.

Another weird thing is that there are no painkillers waiting for him when he wakes up. You’d think that if his friends somehow managed to sneak his drunk ass in, they'd at least leave him some aspirin to wake up to, but apparently, they didn’t. He gives them the benefit of the doubt and assumes they were too busy trying to deal with him and ended up forgetting.

He gets up and finds some himself, before quickly going through his morning routine; showering, brushing his teeth, etc.

He makes his way downstairs once he’s done, muttering a “Happy New Year” to Nora as he joins her the kitchen. She gives him a weird look, but he blames it on the fact that he probably looks like shit.

“Pancakes again?” He asks, confused because the ones on the plate in front of him are practically identical to the ones he had yesterday.

“Again?” Nora replies, sounding equally confused.  
  
“Did you forget you made them yesterday?”

“Simon, I made breakfast burritos yesterday.”  
  
“What? No, you made pancakes. These exact pancakes,” Simon sighs, closing his eyes and running a hand through his perpetual bed head, “I think I’m having déjà vu.”

When he looks at Nora again, her eyes are wide.

“What?” He asks, “do I really look that bad?”

“Simon,” she asks, her tone urgent, “what day is it?”

“Do you not know?”

“Just tell me. Please.”

“January 1st. New Years Day. That’s why I told you Happy New Year when I came down this morning.”

Nora stares at him, “Simon, it’s December 31st.”

He’s silent for a moment as the words register in his brain. December 31st? New Years Eve? It can’t be. Yesterday was New Years Eve.

“Nora, are you pranking me?”

She shakes her head quickly, “I’m being serious, Si, look.” She shows him her phone’s lock screen, and sure enough, the date reads _December 31st_. Simon checks his own phone, just to be sure, and finds the exact same date.

“What the fuck?” He says, confused, “this doesn’t make sense, I swear it was the 31st yesterday!”

“Simon,” Nora says, her voice soft, “I think you’re supposed to kiss your soulmate today.”

“What…? No. Soulmates aren’t real, Nora.”

“You’re kinda proving that wrong just by being here.”

He sits down because he can’t deal with this. Soulmates are real, and he apparently met his yesterday and has to kiss them.

He has literally no idea who his soulmate could be.

“Well I have the worst luck,” he says, after a long stretch of silence, “because I have literally no idea who my soulmate could be.”

“Well, we know it’s a boy.” Nora says, joining him at the table, “what did you do yesterday?”

“I went to WaHo, with Nick, Abby, and Leah, and then we went to Garrett’s New Years party.”

“Okay, well, it wouldn’t be someone you didn’t interact with. The universe isn’t that cruel. Who did you talk to?”

Simon thinks for a minute, “the cute waiter at WaHo, Cal Price, Garrett, Bram… that’s it.”

“Well, those are your picks.”

“There’s no way I’m kissing Garrett Laughlin.”

Nora laughs quietly, “okay, but what about the others?”

“Well, I know it’s not Bram, he’s straight.” Simon tries to hide the disappointment in his voice, it probably doesn’t work. “So it’s either Cal or the cute waiter guy. I think his name was Lyle?”

“Well, there you go. Just retrace your steps, and you should figure it out.”

Simon eats his pancakes, “well I have some good news, at least,” he says.

“What?” Nora asks.

“These pancakes still taste as great as yesterday.”

Nora smiles.

* * *

“So, what you’re saying is, you’re supposed to kiss your soulmate today?” Abby asks.

“Yes,” Simon replies.

“But you don’t know who he is,” Nick says.

“Yes.”

“And he might be the cute waiter that’s coming over to our booth right now?” Leah clarifies.

“Ye- wait what.”

“Hey,” Lyle comes up to their booth, notepad in hand and ready to take their order. His eyes linger on Simon.

“You look familiar,” he says, “it’s Simon, right?”

Simon nods, wondering if the conversation is going to play out exactly how it did last time.

“Yeah! We had Bio together, last year?”

So, that’s a yes. At least this time he can say he remembers him instead of awkwardly apologising for having no idea who he is.

“Yeah! Hey, were you there that time they did that identifying leaves test?”

Lyle smiles, “yeah! And Joe Winslow ate that poison ivy.”

“Because Doug Fogherty told him it was pot!”

Lyle laughs as he takes their orders. And then he’s moving away from their booth, and Simon finds himself following him.

“Hey,” He says again.

“Hi,” Lyle responds, “actually, now we’re away from the others, I was wondering if I could ask you something?”

Simon’s heart stops.

“Is Abby, y’know, single? Or….?”

And it starts again. He resists the urge to sigh in disappointment.

“Uh, no, sorry. She’s dating Nick.”

“Oh! My bad. Sorry, she’s just like, super hot, y’know?”

Simon nods, “yeah… I know.”

He returns to the table, his friends looking at him excitedly.

“Well???” Abby asks.

He shakes his head, “he’s straight and definitely not interested in me.”

“Oh,” Abby says.

“Well, who else could it be?” Nick asks.

Simon’s eyes widen. “Cal Price.”

* * *

“Do you realise how weird it is that you literally know exactly what’s going to happen tonight?” Leah asks him in the car, “I mean, one of us could literally die, and you’d know.”

“Real dark, Leah,” Simon replies.

“Well yeah, maybe, but y’know what I mean. Do I do anything stupid?”

Simon shrugs, “not really. You just talk to Garrett.” He skips over the part where she freaked out about him possibly being her soulmate, he figures that it’s something he probably shouldn’t tell her. He doesn’t want to mess with the universe.

They reach the party, and Abby and Nick disappear as soon as they arrive again, except this time Simon knows that they’re actually speaking to Garrett and Bram.

Ugh, Bram. Garrett’s gonna try and rope him into playing beer pong with him again, and he really can’t be bothered, especially now he knows how this night ends.

He abandons Leah, but he figures she understands. He ends up in the kitchen again, and he ends up getting a beer. He doesn’t plan on drinking more than one tonight, though. He just needs a little bit of liquid courage, considering what he’s going to do.

He waits for a few minutes, just watching the party-goers, and then he feels a soft tap on his shoulder.

He turns around, smiling, “hi, Cal!”

Cal smiles back, “hey Simon. Fancy seeing you here.”

“Yeah, I didn’t know parties were your thing.” It’s nice to have a script to fall back on, but it’s weird knowing exactly how Cal will react to the things he says.

“Oh, they aren’t.” Cal says, “but Garrett _insisted_ that I came, so.”

“I didn’t know you two were friends.”

“It’s only a recent thing. He just approached me one day and I didn’t want to be rude so I talked to him, and we kinda hit it off.”

“That’s great,” Simon replies. _Fuck, there goes the script_. “So, uh-“

“Spier!” Garrett suddenly interrupts, appearing out of nowhere. Simon has never hated him more than he does right now.

“Yes, Garrett?” He asks.

“Wanna play beer pong with Bram? I would, but I need to tell Leah something really really important.”

“You really came all the way in here to ask me to play beer pong with Bram?” Simon asks, confused. And now he thinks about it, that is _super_ weird. Yesterday made sense, he was already outside and probably looking bored with a beer in his hand. Now he’s clearly mid-conversation, and as far away from outside as he can be.

“It’s fine, Simon.” Cal tells him, smiling, “I’ve got other people to talk to, go have fun.”

“But-“

“Yay! Thanks, Spier!” And then Garrett’s gone.

Simon sighs and shoots Cal an apologetic look before heading into the backyard. The game is already set up, and Nick and Abby perk up when he arrives, getting ready to play.

He reluctantly stands next to Bram, trying his best not to look at him. It’s weird, because he’s angry at Bram even though he has no reason to be. It’s not Bram’s fault he’s straight and not interested in Simon, and this Bram hasn’t even kissed the brunette girl yet. He probably doesn’t even know he’s going to.

“Ready to play?” Bram asks. Simon shrugs.

“Doesn’t matter, we’re gonna lose either way.”

Bram shoots him a weird look. Simon ignores it, and they play.

They lose again, of course. And Simon is drunk, again. He briefly glances up at Bram and finds him looking at him, almost expectantly, like he’s waiting for something.

This is when Simon asks him to dance, but he’s not doing it this time. He’s not wasting his time attempting to woo Bram when he knows Cal is his soulmate. He stumbles away and back inside.

He wants to look for Cal, but he figures he should wait until they’re closer to the countdown. Since Cal is probably going through the exact same thing Simon is, he’ll know where he’ll be and they can end this stupid time loop shit fast.

He waits for Leah to ambush him to tell him about Garrett, but she never arrives. Simon finds that odd, but then he sees Garrett climbing up onto the table, and he’s distracted by the need to find Cal as soon as possible.

“THERE’S LIKE, A MINUTE TIL MIDNIGHT.” He hears for the second time, “SO MAKE SURE EVERYONE’S INSIDE SO WE CAN DO THE COUNTDOWN. AND SO YOU CAN FIND SOMEONE TO KISS.”

At that exact moment, Simon runs into Cal Price.

“Woah- sorry!” Simon says, stumbling a little. Cal laughs and helps him steady himself.

“It’s fine,” he says, smiling, “I was actually looking for you, anyway.”

“Oh?” Simon asks.

“Yeah. How do you feel about being my New Years kiss?” He asks.

Simon’s heart stops again, but this time it’s in a good way.

“I would be honoured.” He replies.

He hears the countdown begin again.

_5…_

Cal puts his cup down on the nearest available surface and smiles at Simon again.

_4…_

He steps closer, and Simon’s heart is pounding so hard against his chest he’s surprised no-one else can hear it.  
  
_3…_

Cal leans in, and Simon leans in to meet him halfway.

_2…_

Their lips meet.

 _1_ …

The crowd cheers.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And then it hits him. And he doesn’t want to believe in at first, because it doesn’t make sense at all.
> 
> His locks his phone, and then presses the home button so he can view his lock screen.
> 
> December 31st
> 
> No fucking way.

Simon wakes up happy.

He still has a hangover, but he also actually remembers the car journey home this time- because it actually happened.

Cal Price is his soulmate.

Lucky for him, he also remembered to put a glass of water and some aspirin for him to wake up to-

Simon frowns as he glances at where he’s sure he left them.

They aren’t there.

 _What_?

He crawls out of bed, confused, but brushes it off, it must just be a false memory created by his stupid drunk brain.

He finds painkillers elsewhere, just like he did yesterday. He figures he should text Cal something, like a good morning text. They are soulmates, after all.

He unlocks his phone and scrolls through his contacts, but he can’t find Cal.

He vividly remembers exchanging numbers with Cal last night. There’s no way his drunk brain made that up.

_What the hell is going on?_

And then it hits him. And he doesn’t want to believe in at first, because it doesn’t make sense at all.

His locks his phone, and then presses the home button so he can view his lock screen.

_December 31st_

No fucking way.

He kissed Cal. With seconds to spare! It wasn’t a last-minute thing. They didn’t run out of time!

So why has the day reset again?

Unless…

Unless Cal isn’t his soulmate.

But that only leaves…

Oh _god_.

* * *

He heads downstairs after getting ready for the day for the third fucking time in a row. Nora seems to sense that he’s on edge, but he can’t be bothered to explain everything to her again, so he simply compliments her on how delicious the pancakes are, and heads to Leah’s.

He wonders if every time he does something new, the universe gets pissy at him and decides to make his life more difficult. Maybe he’s supposed to be calling Garrett right now and confessing his love.

Ugh. _Garrett._

It’s not that Garrett is a bad guy- he’s just not Simon’s type, _at all_. Simon isn’t even sure what his type _is_ , he just knows Garrett is _not it_.

But, the universe is cruel.

Leah opens her door shortly after he knocks, and she’s clearly surprised that he’s there.

“Sorry to come over without warning,” he says, “but I kind of have an emergency. A soulmate emergency.”

Leah’s eyes widen, and she lets him in and takes him to her room.

Simon’s eyes, as always, are drawn to the art she draws, but he really doesn’t have time to fawn over her masterpieces now.

They sit down on Leah’s bed, and Simon takes a deep breath.

“This is the second time I’ve done this.” He tells her.

She frowns, “the second time you’ve sat on my bed?”

“What? No- the second time I’ve explained to you that I’m stuck in that stupid fucking soulmate time loop.”

“Oh.” Leah says, “wow, on New Year's Eve, no less.”

“I hate the universe.” Simon sighs, and then he explains.

“Garrett?” Leah says, looking like she’s trying not to laugh, “your soulmate is fucking _Garrett_?”

“It’s gotta be, he’s the only other guy I’ve interacted with, besides Nick and Bram, and I know it’s not either of them because they’re both painfully straight.”

“And Garrett _isn’t?!_ ” Leah replies, unable to hold her laugh in this time.

Simon sighs again.

“Wait, so obviously it’s not Nick, because we know he’s straight, and he’s dating Abby. But why can’t it be Bram?”  
  
“Because he’s straight.”

“How do you know?”

Simon pauses, debating on whether or not he should tell her. “The first time I went through this, before I knew I was supposed to kiss my soulmate today, the night ended with Bram kissing a random brunette girl as the countdown finished.” He explains.

Leah nods in understanding, “okay,” she says, “how drunk was Bram?”

Simon looks at her incredulously, “ _what?_ ”

“How drunk was Bram?” She asks again, “like, on a scale of me, to you after one beer.”

Simon rolls his eyes and flips her off before answering, “I don’t know. I’d only drank a little more than he did. Beer pong was definitely enough to get him really drunk, even if he wasn’t wasted.”

“Isn’t it true that people usually do dumb shit when they’re drunk?” Leah says.

“Well yeah, but-“

“And he might not have even wanted to kiss her. How long did you stick around for after you saw them together?”

“Not very long, but-“

“And, there are more sexualities than gay and straight, Simon. Bram could be bi, or pan, or some other label that we’ve never heard of.” Leah finishes, a proud smile on her face as if she’s just cracked a code.

Simon supposes she has.

He stares at her for a few seconds, his mouth open, before finally pulling himself together.

“Can you drive me to Garrett’s party tonight?”

* * *

They end up stopping at Simon’s so he can change, because he honestly didn’t put a lot of effort into his outfit today, and he wants to look nice for Bram.

He’s not going to lie to himself and act like he isn’t way more excited about Bram potentially being his soulmate than he was about Lyle or Cal. It probably has something to do with the fact that Bram is the one that he has a crush on. He thought Lyle was cute, but he’d pretty much only noticed him for the first time during the first loop.

Cal was sweet, and also cute, and Simon actually knew him from school. They have common interests (read: theatre) and he’s actually gay, or bi, or pan. Into guys, basically. Simon would be lying if he said he’d never _thought_ about being with Cal, but it just doesn’t hold a candle to the idea of being with Bram.

 _Bram_.

They head to the party, stopping to pick up Nick and Abby on the way.

That’s when things start going wrong.

Leah obviously knows about the situation, so she attempts to get them there faster by taking a shortcut. Which leads them to a dead end.

“Fuck, sorry Si.” She says, reversing so she can go back the way they came. Simon accepts her apology and tries to ignore the anxiety bubbling up in his chest.

They end up stuck in traffic somehow.

“I swear the universe is punishing me,” he mutters.

They make it to the party almost an hour later than they intended, thanks to an accident that had them stuck in traffic for god knows how long on the way. At one point Simon seriously contemplated jumping out and _running_ to Garrett’s house.

He enters quickly, and looks around for Bram, at the spot where he’s supposed to be chatting to Nick, Garrett, and Abby.

He isn’t there.

 _Wait_ , Simon tells himself, _I’m an hour late._

He heads outside, expecting to find Bram either setting up or playing beer pong.

He isn’t there, either. Garrett is alone and tidying up the cups.

Simon goes over, “Hey, Garrett.” He says, “where’s Bram?”

“Oh, he’s at home. He didn’t want to come. Something about him feeling sick.” Garrett replies.

“Oh.” He says, disappointment evident in his voice. He slowly makes his way over to Leah, Abby, and Nick, who are waiting for him in the same spot Leah dragged him to when she needed to talk about Garrett. Not that she remembers that.

“Well…?” She asks.

Simon shakes his head sadly, “he’s not here. Apparently, he stayed home.”

“Have you spoken to him today?” Abby questions, “have you seen him at all?”

Simon shakes his head again, “no, why?”

“That’s… weird.” Nick says.

“What?”

“I said that’s weird,” Nick repeats, “because it is. Time loops are like… replaying a choice-based video game. You can change what happens by changing the way you interact with the world. Like saying a different thing than what you said the first time, or choosing to take a left instead of a right. But, everyone else who you don’t interact with is just… following a script.”

“Like they don’t have free will.” Abby says, continuing Nick’s point as her eyes widen, “we’re only talking to you right now because you _told_ us what was going on. You changed how things play out. If you had done exactly what you did the first night, we would’ve too. But we haven’t, because you’ve told us otherwise.”

“I don’t get it,” Simon replies, because he truly doesn’t, “are you trying to say I’m God or something? 'Cause I’m really not cut out for that.”

“Yes,” Leah says dryly, “you, Simon Spier, are God. Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Guess it’s about time I told you guys my _actual_ opinions on homosexuality then,” Simon responds, smirking.

“Simon! Now is not the time!” Abby tells him, “what did Bram do the first night you were here?”

Simon frowns, “he talked to you guys, played beer pong, danced with me, and then kissed that stupid brunette girl.”

They all ignore the insult he throws the brunette girl’s way.

“So you’re saying he came to the party? 100%?” Nick asks.

“Yes,” Simon replies.

“And you haven’t interacted with him at _all_ today, you haven’t even sent him a text, or seen him in the street?” Leah questions.

“I 100% have not.”

“Simon,” Abby says, sounding like she’s trying to contain her excitement, “I don’t think you’ve worked it out yet, but I’m pretty sure Bram has free will.”

Simon’s eyes widen. _Now_ he gets it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His gaze returns to Bram, and he decides to take a different approach, “have you been experiencing any déjà vu lately?”
> 
> Bram’s eyes widen then.
> 
> “Y- yeah,” he stutters- and it’s so weird to hear Bram stuttering, honestly- “I have, actually… why?”

They have an hour left.

They’re all piled into Simon’s car again. Leah’s driving, but only ‘cause Simon’s so nervous he’ll afraid if he tries he’ll end up crashing and killing them all.

He wonders if the day resets again if he dies. He wonders what happens to Bram if he dies.

He doesn’t really want to think about it.

Leah is driving at a speed that’s dangerously close to the speed limit and too fast for Simon’s liking. He really doesn’t want to tell her to slow down, though. They’ve already wasted too much time debating over whether or not Bram has ‘free will’, and then they wasted even more by hunting Garrett down and demanding that he give them Bram’s address, which, as any decent and sane friend would, he initially refused to do. Simon can understand that, though, when a group of four teenagers approach you at your party and order you to give them your best friend’s address, things probably get a little weird.

They eventually convinced him by simply telling him the truth. Simon was reluctant to do so, in case they were accidentally outing Bram, but he didn’t look surprised at all. He wrote Bram’s address down for them and said something along the lines of “get some Spier!” before disappearing back into the crowd of drunk teens.

They have to go a longer way than they’d like because of the accident that’s still causing a traffic jam.

“I don’t get it,” Simon says, checking the time on his phone nervously before continuing, _half an hour left,_ “if the universe wants us together so badly, why is it making things difficult?”

“Maybe it’s punishing you for being such a dumbass,” Abby says, and Simon can’t really disagree with that.

They pull up to Bram’s with ten minutes to spare, Simon shoots out of the car and up to his front door, banging on it probably a little harder than necessary. It only hits him now that he has absolutely no idea what he’s going to say.

The door opens, but it’s not Bram staring out at him, it’s an older black woman, most likely Bram’s mom.

“Hello,” she greets, “are you okay?”

Simon nods quickly, although that’s definitely a lie because he is 100% panicking because they are _running out of time_.

“Hi, sorry. I’m Simon. I go to school with Bram. I’m his friend,” Simon explains as quickly as he can manage, “I really need to talk to him.”

She studies him for a minute, before stepping back and turning to face the inside of her house.

“Bram!” She calls, “there’s someone here to talk to you! Says his name’s Simon and that’s it’s really important!”

There’s an agonising wait as Simon hears Bram come down the stairs, and then his mom is gone and he appears at the door.

Simon checks his phone. They have five minutes.

“Hi,” he says.

“Hey,” Bram responds.

“We need to-“ Simon cuts himself off, taking a breath, “okay, so this is really weird, and, I know it is, but, I’m pretty sure you’re like, my…” he clears his throat, his nerves rendering him incapable of saying it.

“You’re pretty sure I’m your what?”

Simon checks his phone again. _Four minutes_.

His gaze returns to Bram, and he decides to take a different approach, “have you been experiencing any déjà vu lately?”

Bram’s eyes widen then.

“Y- yeah,” he stutters- and it’s so weird to hear Bram stuttering, honestly- “I have, actually… why?”

“I have too. And I’ve narrowed the cause down to one person. And I’m currently standing on his doorstep panicking because we have-“ he checks his phone for the millionth time, “three minutes left.”

“I thought- you- I saw you kissing Cal Price.”

“I thought it _was_ Cal Price,” Simon replies honestly.

Bram nods, “did you seriously never think it was me?”

“I wanted it to be you, but I was convinced you were straight.”

Bram’s eyes get almost comically wide, “ _oh_.”

“Bram,” Simon says, “I really don’t mean to rush things; I’m a big fan of taking things slow, but we’re running out of time.”

Bram hesitates, “do you think you can get through one more day? I want to do this right. I want it to be special.”

“I don’t think the universe would appreciate it if we completely changed how the day is supposed to go.”

“No, yeah, you’re right.” Bram bites his lip, “meet me at the party, in Garrett’s room, a few minutes before the countdown?”

Simon nods, “I’ll see you there.”

Bram smiles, and that gymnast in Simon’s stomach is going for gold this time.

* * *

Simon’s day starts off exactly the same as it did the first three times.

This time, however, he has no hangover. He showers and brushes his teeth, eats Nora’s breakfast pancakes and compliments her on how delicious they are, and takes Bieber out for a walk because even though it’s cold it’s still a nice day out and he wants to take advantage of that.

He goes on a longer walk than he did originally, just because he knows he has time to kill and he figures it won’t mess anything up too badly. He returns just as he receives Leah’s text, asks his parents for permission to go to a party, and then meets his friends at WaHo.

He’s friendly to Lyle, but that’s all. He doesn’t attempt to initiate any conversations, mostly because there’s someone else that’s currently occupying his mind.

His friends are none the wiser because he hasn’t told them. There’s no reason for him to this time. He knows what’s going to happen, and he knows what he has to do to make sure things go right.

They make it to the party on time, just like they’re supposed to. Simon takes in the familiar scene he’s grown used to seeing. The only part that stumps him here is drinking. He doesn’t really want to get drunk.

Still, he goes to the kitchen for a drink and chats to Cal Price, this time, he leaves with coke instead of beer.

He dances with Leah for a while, and then they go outside, where two soccer players are playing beer pong against Nick and Abby. Two soccer players that are definitely not Garrett and Bram.

That worries him a little. He assumes Bram doesn’t want to drink either, but that’s a pretty big chunk of their night that they’re intentionally avoiding, he hopes the universe doesn’t mind too much.

He watches the game between Nick and Abby and the soccer players. Nick and Abby win, but only just. They celebrate with a kiss, which is something Simon never noticed before.

And then, Bram appears.

“Hey,” he says, smiling that dumb smile that makes Simon feel things.

“Hi,” Simon replies, smiling back.

“Would you like to dance with me?”

Simon smiles more, “I would.”

So they dance.

Dancing with Bram sober is much different than dancing with Bram drunk. For starters, they’re both a lot more awkward since they don’t have any liquid courage to make them feel like they can dance like nobody’s watching. A good difference is that Simon is sober enough to appreciate Bram this time (not that he hasn’t been doing that already for like, the past year).

Bram moves closer during one of the songs, taking Simon’s hands in his. The gymnast in his stomach does a flip and perfectly sticks the landing.

“Are you disappointed that it’s me?” He asks, quietly.

Simon shakes his head and squeezes his hands, “not at all,” he reassures, “I told you, I _wanted_ it to be you. Are _you_ disappointed that it’s me?”

Bram shakes his head too, “I’ve had a crush on you since freshman year.”

That makes him blush, and Bram smiles when he notices, which makes him blush harder, because Bram is really fucking cute.

“Are you, um, are you out?” Simon asks.

Bram bites his lip, “only to my parents and Garrett. And you.”

“Are you gonna come out after this? It- It’s fine if you’re not ready…. I just... wanted to know-“

“I’m ready,” Bram tells him, “I’m all in if you are.”

“All in like what? Boyfriend?”

“All in like _soulmate_.”

Simon debates kissing him right then and there. He really wants to. So he moves closer, so close their bodies are almost pressed against one another. He brings his hands up to rest on the back of Bram’s neck, and Bram starts leaning in-

And then Leah’s pulling him away because it’s time for the Garrett Talk. _Fuck, he forgot about Leah_.

“Wh- Leah! Why’d you pull me away? I was about to kiss-“ he cuts himself off and sighs, knowing it’s pointless.

Leah rolls her eyes, “Garrett just told me he likes me, he asked me out on a date!”

“Nice.” Simon says, “do you like him?”

Leah shrugs, “I guess. I don’t know if he’s my soulmate though, and I don’t really know how to find out without replaying this day again.”

“Did you kiss him?”

“Obviously not. I might, though. If I kiss him and nothing happens, I can assume we’re soulmates, right?”

Simon nods, leaning against the wall, “that’s how it works.”

Leah groans, “ugh, I hate the universe. That sounds so exhausting.”

“Trust me, it is.”

Leah stares at him for a second, “Si… are you saying you’ve met your soulmate?”

Simon nods, smiling, “listen, I _promise_ I’ll tell you everything tomorrow, okay?”

Leah nods quickly in response, “okay,” she smiles back at him, “I’m really happy for you, Simon.”

“Me too, trust me, you have no idea how difficult these past few days have been.”

They continue talking about Garrett for a short while, Simon can tell Leah wants to ask him a million questions, but she respects his request to wait till tomorrow.

Ah, tomorrow. He can’t wait to actually live it.

“HEY EVERYONE,” and there’s Garrett. Simon looks over to see if Bram is in his usual spot beside the table. He isn’t.

 _Shit_ , he’s supposed to meet Bram in Garrett’s room.

He mumbles a half-assed apology to Leah and starts rushing upstairs as the Countdown Crowd starts gathering in the main room. Garrett’s house is bigger than he thought it would be, and he wonders how he’s supposed to work out which room is his.

Then he walks past one with **GARRETT’S ROOM: DO NOT ENTER** taped on the door, and that seems to be a pretty good indicator.

He lets himself in and shuts the door behind him, and Bram is there, sitting patiently on the bed and awaiting his arrival.

“I’m so sorry,” Simon says, “I just got so caught up in my conversation with Leah that-“

Bram chuckles and makes his way over, “it’s fine, Simon. You’re here now, with-“ he glances back at the clock on Garrett’s bedside table, “-about a minute to spare.”

Simon smiles, and Bram smiles back, and that dumb gymnast in Simon’s stomach is probably trying too hard.

“So…” Bram says, “wanna be my New Years Kiss?”

Simon can hear that the countdown has started, even though they’re upstairs and it’s slightly muffled:

_5…_

He nods, “I would love that _so_ much. More than anything else in the world. More than Oreos.”

_4…_

Bram gently pulls him closer, and Simon goes willingly. It’s as if everything is moving in slow motion. They’re pressed together now, even closer than they were when they almost kissed while dancing.

_3…_

He feels Bram’s hands on his waist, holding him close. Simon never wants him to let go. Ever. He’s fully content standing here with Bram holding him like this. Bram leans down and kisses him.

_2…_

Simon’s first thought is that Bram is an amazing kisser. Seriously, Bram kisses like Elliott Smith sings. Simon has kissed people before- mostly girls, and of course Cal Price, but none of those kisses have ever made him feel like _this_. Like his entire body is tingling and the rest of the world doesn’t exist. He doesn’t know if that’s a Bram thing or a soulmate thing. Maybe it’s both.

_1…_

The crowd cheers, but Simon barely registers it. The only thing on his mind is _Bram. Bram kissing him. Bram’s lips. Bram’s hands on his waist. His hands holding onto Bram’s shirt. Bram Greenfeld. His soulmate._

* * *

Simon wakes up ecstatic. He’s fairly certain he’s never woken up so happy before in his life. He didn’t drink at all last night, and he’s not alone in his bed.

He glances over at Bram, still sleeping peacefully. That’s all the evidence he needs to prove that it’s a different day. But he grabs his phone and checks it, just to make sure.

_January 1st_

Simon almost cries tears of joy.

He shakes Bram gently, and it doesn’t take him long to wake up. Last night was amazing. They did _not_ hook up- soulmates or not, Simon definitely isn’t ready for that yet. But they did sleep in the same bed and cuddle, and that really was the cherry on top of the perfect night. It really made the past few Days of Hell completely worth it.

“Hey,” Bram mumbles sleepily, “good morning.”

“Morning,” Simon replies, a massive grin on his face. He could get used to this; waking up to Bram beside him. He knows when he tells his parents that Bram’s his boyfriend ( _and his soulmate!_ ) they’ll probably punish him for lying so they’d let him stay over, but right now, watching Bram slowly sit up and rub the sleep out of his eyes, he couldn’t care less.

“Did we do it…?” Bram asks quietly.

“Well we’re in bed together, aren’t we? And look,” Simon shows him his lock screen, “January 1st.”

Bram smiles _that_ smile again, “yay.” He says, leaning into Simon, Simon giggles as he does, “do we have to get up?”

He shakes his head, “not yet.”

“Good,” Bram says, and then he’s lying back down and pulling Simon down with him, so Simon’s head is resting on his chest.

“Hey, Bram?” Simon says after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad it’s you.”

Simon doesn’t see it, but he _feels_ Bram smile.

“I’m glad it’s you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaand that's it! The end! It's short, but the majority of my writing is short. Either way, I hope you enjoyed. Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
